Founder Of Simsbury Charity Defies Court Order, Hides Sons

The well-known founder of a Simsbury charity is defying a court order to return her children to Connecticut in connection with a custody dispute with her husband, who faces Vermont charges of sexually assaulting the boys.

"I'm underground," Linda M. Wiegand, 33, said in a telephone interview Wednesday. She would not say where she was.

She most recently was living in Stowe, Vt., but said she's moved from house to house with her two sons, living with friends out of state.

Four years ago when she was living in Simsbury, Wiegand founded Gifts of Love Inc., a private charitable organization that provides temporary support to families in need by collecting food, clothing and other necessities. She moved to Vermont last year.

By refusing family court Judge Herbert Barall's July 7 order to return the boys, aged 4 and 7, Wiegand risks a contempt charge and possible arrest. Barall's order directed the state Department of Children and Families to contact the FBI about the case.

But Wiegand said she will not return to the state without a lawyer. Barall has directed that her children be placed temporarily with Karen Wilkinson, Wiegand's sister-in-law.

Wiegand said she fears the temporary placement would expose her sons to renewed contact with her estranged husband, Thomas W. Wilkinson, a West Hartford resident. Wilkinson is the father of the younger boy; the older boy is Wiegand's son by a previous marriage.

Wilkinson was arrested this year in Vermont on two charges of sexual abuse of a person under 16. The arrest affidavit cites police interviews with the boys, who said Wilkinson had oral and anal sex with the 4-year-old.

His lawyer, Louis Kiefer, said there is a motion to dismiss the case due to lack of probable cause. He accused Wiegand of defaming his client and trying to manipulate the press.

Readers Digest and Family Circle have written about Gifts of Love and about Wiegand, who was recognized as a local hero in Simsbury last year. Later, citing ill health, she resigned from the

group's board and moved to Vermont.

After Wilkinson's arrest, Wiegand said she told Simsbury police of the sexual abuse charges, and of indications from her children that the abuse also occurred while the family lived in Simsbury.

Simsbury Police Chief Alfred Shull said that his department, acting on a request from the Vermont state's attorney's office, has not pursued the case pending the resolution of the Vermont case.

He said he consulted with the state's attorney's office in Connecticut, which concurred.

Vermont State's Attorney Lee Dow said she was concerned defense attorneys would argue that the children were coached.

Kiefer said his client's only concern is the safety of the 4-year-old.

"Our primary goal right now is the safety and welfare of [the child] whose custody was awarded to a paternal aunt and whose whereabouts are unknown," he said.

The custody dispute between Wilkinson and Wiegand began last September, when Wilkinson filed court papers for a dissolution of the 18-month marriage and sought joint custody of the couple's 4-year-old son.

Wiegand also filed for divorce, and both eventually asked for sole custody of the boy. On Feb. 8, Hartford lawyer Judith Benedict was appointed attorney for the two boys by the family court.

Wilkinson has filed court papers accusing Wiegand of letting the boys watch X-rated movies and play with anatomically correct dolls.

"As a result of this sexual stimulation, the defendant [Wiegand] caused criminal charges to be levied against the plaintiff [Wilkinson] for alleged sexual abuse," states Wilkinson's motion for custody. He also accused her of teaching the boys to make explicit sexual statements, demonstrating her unfitness as a parent.

Wilkinson, through his lawyer, also accused Wiegand of sexually abusing the boys, of maintaining a Swiss bank account, and of keeping as much as $20,000 in a Massachusetts bank account in the name of one of the boys.

Wiegand denied those accusations. She said she believes Wilkinson abused both her sons, including assaulting the older boy at knifepoint.

Wiegand was represented for several months by Bethel lawyer James Mannion, but recently dropped him because she no longer can afford the fees, she said. She said she hopes to find supporters, and perhaps a lawyer, who will help her pursue the custody case.

Wiegand said she will not attend a scheduled meeting today with the boys' court-appointed lawyer because she is afraid of being served on contempt charges and of having the children taken away.

Judge Barall declined to say whether he is holding Wiegand in contempt. "That is something I haven't heard evidence on," he said.

Barall has ordered that Wiegand, Wilkinson and the 4-year-old be evaluated at the Institute of Living in Hartford, the first step in determining whether sexual abuse occurred.

"My job is to see the children are protected and set up a procedure to find out what happened, what is the truth, as best one can discern," Barall said